Open Access

Physical Review Letters

, volume 134 , issue 8 , publication number 081002

Measurement of Very-High-Energy Diffuse Gamma-Ray Emissions from the Galactic Plane with LHAASO-WCDA

Zhen Cao ^{1, 2, 3}

F. Aharonian ^{4, 5}

Axikegu ⁶

Y. X. Bai ^{1, 3}

Y. W. Bao ⁷

D. Bastieri ⁸

X. J. Bi ^{1, 2, 3}

Y. J. Bi ^{1, 3}

W. Bian ⁹

A. V. Bukevich ¹⁰

Q. Cao ¹¹

W.-Y. Cao ¹²

Zhe Cao ^{12, 13}

J. Chang ¹⁴

J. F. Chang ^{1, 3, 13}

A M Chen ⁹

E. S. Chen ^{1, 2, 3}

H. X. CHEN ¹⁵

Liang Chen ¹⁴

Chen Lin ⁶

Long Chen ⁶

M. J. Chen ^{1, 3}

M L Chen ^{1, 3, 13}

Q. H. Chen ⁶

S. Chen ¹⁶

S. H. Chen ^{1, 2, 3}

S. Z. Chen ^{1, 3}

T. L. Chen ¹⁷

Y. Chen ⁷

N. Cheng ^{1, 3}

Y. D. Cheng ^{1, 2, 3}

M.-C. Chu ¹⁸

M.Y. Cui ¹⁴

S. W. Cui ¹¹

X. H. Cui ¹⁴

Y. D. Cui ¹⁹

B. Z. Dai ¹⁶

H. L. Dai ^{1, 3, 13}

Z. G. Dai ¹²

Danzengluobu ¹⁷

X. Q. Dong ^{1, 2, 3}

K. K. Duan ¹⁴

J. H. Fan ⁸

Y. Z. Fan ¹⁴

J. Fang ¹⁶

J. H. Fang ¹⁵

K. Fang ^{1, 3}

C. F. Feng ²⁰

H. Feng ¹

L. Feng ¹⁴

S. H. Feng ^{1, 3}

X.-T. Feng ²⁰

Y. Feng ¹⁵

Y. L. Feng ¹⁷

S. Gabici ²¹

B. Gao ^{1, 3}

C. D. Gao ²⁰

Q. Gao ¹⁷

W Gao ^{1, 3}

W.-K. Gao ^{1, 2, 3}

M. M. Ge ¹⁶

T.T. Ge ¹⁹

L. S. Geng ^{1, 3}

G. Giacinti ⁹

G. H. Gong ²²

Q. B. Gou ^{1, 3}

M. H. Gu ^{1, 3, 13}

F. L. Guo ¹⁴

J. Guo ²²

X. L. Guo ⁶

Y. Q. Guo ^{1, 3}

Y. Y. Guo ¹⁴

Y. A. Han ²³

O. A. Hannuksela ¹⁸

M Hasan ^{1, 2, 3}

H. H. He ^{1, 2, 3}

H. N. He ¹⁴

J.Y He ¹⁴

Y. He ⁶

Y. K. Hor ¹⁹

B W Hou ^{1, 2, 3}

C Hou ^{1, 3}

X. Hou ¹⁴

H. B. Hu ^{1, 2, 3}

Q Hu ^{12, 14}

S. C. Hu ^{1, 3, 24}

C. Huang ⁷

D. H. Huang ⁶

T Q Huang ^{1, 3}

W. J. Huang ¹⁹

X.-T. Huang ²⁰

X. Y. Huang ¹⁴

Y Huang ^{1, 2, 3}

Y. Y. Huang ⁷

X. L. Ji ^{1, 3, 13}

H. Y. Jia ⁶

K. Jia ²⁰

H. B. Jiang ^{1, 3}

K. Jiang ^{12, 13}

X.-W. Jiang ^{1, 3}

Z. J. Jiang ¹⁶

M. Jin ⁶

M M Kang ²⁵

I. Karpikov ¹⁰

D. Khangulyan ^{1, 3}

D. Kuleshov ¹⁰

K. Kurinov ¹⁰

B. B. Li ¹¹

C. M. LI ⁷

Cheng Li ^{12, 13}

Cong Li ^{1, 3}

D. Li ^{1, 2, 3}

F. Li ^{1, 3, 13}

H. B. Li ^{1, 3}

Huicai Li ^{1, 3}

Jian Li ¹²

Jie Li ^{1, 3, 13}

K Li ^{1, 3}

S. D. Li ^{2, 14}

W. L. Li ⁹

X. R. Li ^{1, 3}

Xin Li ^{12, 13}

Y. Z. Li ^{1, 2, 3}

Zhe Li ^{1, 3}

Zhuo Li ²⁶

E. W. Liang ²⁷

Y. F. Liang ²⁷

S. J. Lin ¹⁹

B. Liu ¹²

C. Liu ^{1, 3}

D. Liu ²⁰

D. B. Liu ⁹

H. Liu ⁶

H. D. Liu ²³

J Liu ^{1, 3}

J. L. Liu ^{1, 3}

M. Y. Liu ¹⁷

R. Y. Liu ⁷

S. M. Liu ⁶

W. Liu ^{1, 3}

Y. Liu ⁸

Y. N. Liu ²²

Q. Luo ¹⁹

Y. Luo ⁹

H. K. Lv ^{1, 3}

B. Q. Ma ²⁶

L L Ma ^{1, 3}

X. H. Ma ^{1, 3}

J. R. Mao ¹⁴

Z. Min ^{1, 3}

W. Mitthumsiri ²⁸

H J Mu ²³

Y. C. Nan ^{1, 3}

A. Neronov ²¹

K. C. Y. Ng ¹⁸

L J Ou ⁸

P. Pattarakijwanich ²⁸

Z. Y. Pei ⁸

J C Qi ^{1, 2, 3}

M. Y. Qi ^{1, 3}

B. Q. Qiao ^{1, 3}

J. J. Qin ¹²

A. RAZA ^{1, 2, 3}

D. Ruffolo ²⁸

A. Sáiz ²⁸

M. SAEED ^{1, 2, 3}

D. Semikoz ²¹

L. Shao ¹¹

O. Shchegolev ^{10, 29}

X. D. Sheng ^{1, 3}

F W Shu ³⁰

H. C. Song ²⁶

Yu. V. Stenkin ^{10, 29}

V. Stepanov ¹⁰

Y. Su ¹⁴

D. X. Sun ^{12, 14}

Q. N. Sun ⁶

X. N. Sun ²⁷

Z. B. Sun ¹⁴

J. Takata ³¹

P. H. T. Tam ¹⁹

Q W Tang ³⁰

R Tang ⁹

Z. B. Tang ^{12, 13}

W. W. Tian ^{2, 14}

L H Wan ¹⁹

C. Wang ¹⁴

C. ‐B. Wang ⁶

G.W. Wang ¹²

H. G. Wang ⁸

H.-H. Wang ¹⁹

J. C. Wang ¹⁴

Kai Wang ³¹

L. P. Wang ^{1, 2, 3}

L. Y. Wang ^{1, 3}

P H Wang ⁶

R. Wang ²⁰

W. Wang ¹⁹

X. G. Wang ²⁷

X. Y. Wang ⁷

Y. Wang ⁶

Y. D. Wang ^{1, 3}

Y. J. Wang ^{1, 3}

Z.-H. Wang ²⁵

Z. X. Wang ¹⁶

Zhen Wang ⁹

Zheng Wang ^{1, 3, 13}

D. M. Wei ¹⁴

J. J. Wei ¹⁴

Y. J. Wei ^{1, 2, 3}

T. Wen ¹⁶

C. Y. Wu ^{1, 3}

H. R. Wu ^{1, 3}

Q W Wu ³¹

S Wu ^{1, 3}

X. F. Wu ¹⁴

Y. S. Wu ¹²

S. Q. Xi ^{1, 3}

J. Xia ^{12, 14}

G. M. Xiang ^{2, 14}

D. X. Xiao ¹¹

G. Xiao ^{1, 3}

Y. L. Xin ⁶

Y Xing ¹⁴

D. R. Xiong ¹⁴

Z. Xiong ^{1, 2, 3}

D. L. Xu ⁹

R.F. Xu ^{1, 2, 3}

R. X. Xu ²⁶

W. L. Xu ²⁵

L. Xue ²⁰

D. H. Yan ¹⁶

J. Z. Yan ¹⁴

T. Yan ^{1, 3}

C. W. Yang ²⁵

C. Y. Yang ¹⁴

F. Yang ¹¹

F. F. Yang ^{1, 3, 13}

L. L. Yang ¹⁹

M.-J. Yang ^{1, 3}

R. Z. Yang ¹²

W. X. Yang ⁸

Y. H. Yao ^{1, 3}

Z. G. Yao ^{1, 3}

L. Q. Yin ^{1, 3}

N. Yin ²⁰

X. H. You ^{1, 3}

Z. Y. You ^{1, 3}

Y. H. Yu ¹²

Q. Yuan ¹⁴

H. Yue ^{1, 2, 3}

H. D. Zeng ¹⁴

T. X. Zeng ^{1, 3, 13}

W. Zeng ¹⁶

M. Zha ^{1, 3}

B. B. Zhang ⁷

F. Zhang ⁶

H. Zhang ⁹

H. M. Zhang ⁷

H. Y. Zhang ¹⁶

J. L. Zhang ¹⁴

Li Zhang ¹⁶

P. F. Zhang ¹⁶

P. P. Zhang ^{12, 14}

R Zhang ¹⁴

S. B. Zhang ^{2, 14}

S. R. Zhang ¹¹

S. S. Zhang ^{1, 3}

X. Zhang ⁷

X. P. Zhang ^{1, 3}

Y. F. Zhang ⁶

Zhang Yi ^{1, 14}

Yong Zhang ^{1, 3}

B. ZHAO ⁶

J. Zhao ^{1, 3}

L. Zhao ^{12, 13}

L. Z. Zhao ¹¹

S. P. Zhao ¹⁴

X. H. Zhao ¹⁴

F. Zheng ¹⁴

W J Zhong ⁷

B. Zhou ^{1, 3}

H. Zhou ⁹

J. N. Zhou ¹⁴

M. Zhou ³⁰

P. Zhou ⁷

R. Zhou ²⁵

X. X. Zhou ⁶

B. Y. ZHU ^{12, 14}

C. G. Zhu ²⁰

F. R. Zhu ⁶

H. Zhu ¹⁴

K. J. Zhu ^{1, 2, 3, 13}

Y. C. ZOU ³¹

X. Zuo ^{1, 3}

Hide authors affiliations Show authors affiliations: 31 affiliations

Institute of High Energy Physics |

University of Chinese Academy of Sciences |

Tianfu Cosmic Ray Research Center

⁴

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies |

⁵

Max-Planck-Institut for Nuclear Physics |

⁶

SOUTHWEST JIAOTONG UNIVERSITY |

⁷

Nanjing university |

⁸

GuangZhou University |

⁹

ShangHai Jiao Tong University

¹⁰

Institute for Nuclear Research of Russian Academy of Sciences |

¹¹

Hebei normal university |

¹²

University of Science and Technology of China |

¹³

State Key Laboratory of Particle Detection and Electronics

¹⁴

Chinese Academy of sciences

¹⁵

Zhejiang Laboratory

¹⁶

Yunnan university |

¹⁷

Key Laboratory of Cosmic Rays (Tibet University) |

¹⁸

the Chinese University of Hong Kong |

¹⁹

Sun YAT-SEN University |

²⁰

Shandong University |

²¹

Université Paris Cité |

²²

tsinghua University |

²³

Zhengzhou university |

²⁴

China Center of Advanced Science and Technology |

²⁵

SICHUAN University |

²⁶

PEKING University |

²⁷

GuangXi university

²⁸

Mahidol University |

²⁹

Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology |

³⁰

Nanchang university |

³¹

Huazhong university of Science and Technology |

Publication type: Journal Article

Publication date: 2025-02-28

American Physical Society (APS)

Physical Review Letters

scimago Q1

wos Q1

SJR: 2.856

CiteScore: 15.6

Impact factor: 9.0

ISSN: 00319007, 10797114

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.134.081002

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Abstract

The diffuse Galactic gamma-ray emission is a very important tool used to study the propagation and interaction of cosmic rays in the Milky Way. In this Letter, we report the measurements of the diffuse emission from the Galactic plane---covering Galactic longitudes from 15\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} to 235\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} and latitudes from $\ensuremath{-}5\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$ to $+5\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$, in an energy range of 1 to 25 TeV---made with the Water Cherenkov Detector Array (WCDA) of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory. After the sky regions of known sources are masked, the diffuse emission is detected with $24.6\ensuremath{\sigma}$ and $9.1\ensuremath{\sigma}$ significance in the inner Galactic plane ($15\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}<l<125\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$, $|b|<5\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$) and outer Galactic plane ($125\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}<l<235\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$, $|b|<5\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$), respectively. The WCDA spectra in both regions can be well described by a power-law function, with spectral indices of $\ensuremath{-}2.67\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.0{5}_{\mathrm{stat}}$ in the inner region and $\ensuremath{-}2.83\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.1{9}_{\mathrm{stat}}$ in the outer region, respectively. Combined with the Square Kilometer Array (KM2A) measurements at higher energies, a clear softening of the spectrum is found in the inner region, with change of spectral indices by $\ensuremath{\sim}0.5$ at a break energy around 30 TeV. The fluxes of the diffuse emission are higher by a factor of 1.5--2.7 than the model prediction assuming local cosmic ray spectra and the gas column density, which are consistent with those measured by the KM2A. Along the Galactic longitude, the spatial distribution of the diffuse emission shows deviation from that of the gas column density. The spectral shape of the diffuse emission may vary in different longitude regions. The WCDA measurements bridge the gap between the low-energy measurements by space detectors and the ultra-high-energy observations by KM2A and other experiments. These results suggest that improved modeling of the wideband diffuse emission is required.

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Cao Z. et al. Measurement of Very-High-Energy Diffuse Gamma-Ray Emissions from the Galactic Plane with LHAASO-WCDA // Physical Review Letters. 2025. Vol. 134. No. 8. 081002

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Cao Z. et al. Measurement of Very-High-Energy Diffuse Gamma-Ray Emissions from the Galactic Plane with LHAASO-WCDA // Physical Review Letters. 2025. Vol. 134. No. 8. 081002

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@article{2025_Cao,

author = {Zhen Cao and F. Aharonian and Axikegu and Y. X. Bai and Y. W. Bao and D. Bastieri and X. J. Bi and Y. J. Bi and W. Bian and A. V. Bukevich and Q. Cao and W.-Y. Cao and Zhe Cao and J. Chang and J. F. Chang and A M Chen and E. S. Chen and H. X. CHEN and Liang Chen and Chen Lin and Long Chen and M. J. Chen and M L Chen and Q. H. Chen and S. Chen and S. H. Chen and S. Z. Chen and T. L. Chen and Y. Chen and N. Cheng and Y. D. Cheng and M.-C. Chu and M.Y. Cui and S. W. Cui and X. H. Cui and Y. D. Cui and B. Z. Dai and H. L. Dai and Z. G. Dai and Danzengluobu and X. Q. Dong and K. K. Duan and J. H. Fan and Y. Z. Fan and J. Fang and J. H. Fang and K. Fang and C. F. Feng and H. Feng and L. Feng and others},

title = {Measurement of Very-High-Energy Diffuse Gamma-Ray Emissions from the Galactic Plane with LHAASO-WCDA},

journal = {Physical Review Letters},

year = {2025},

volume = {134},

publisher = {American Physical Society (APS)},

month = {feb},

url = {https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.081002},

number = {8},

pages = {081002},

doi = {10.1103/physrevlett.134.081002}

}

Publisher

American Physical Society (APS)

Journal

Physical Review Letters

scimago Q1

wos Q1

SJR

2.856

CiteScore

15.6

Impact factor

9.0

ISSN

00319007 (Print)

10797114 (Electronic)